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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

It looks like there's only one game of note on tonight's MLB menu.$40 on NY Mets (-160) over ChiSox

Matz (7-1, 2.36 ERA, season) takes the ball for the Mets. He faces the Nationals in his last start, shutting them out for 8 innings. Latos (2-1, 7.09, last 5 starts) toes the slab for the Palehose. He surrendered 3 runs in 6 innings of work against the Indians. New York has won 7 of their last 10. The White Sox have dropped 15 of 19.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

There are two games on today's schedule that look worthy of a wager. One day game in St. Louis and a night tilt in Arlington.$20 on ChiCubs (-160) over St. Louis

Arrieata (8-0, 1.29 ERA, season) throws the horsehide for the Cubbies. In his last outing he held the Giants to one run in 7 innings of work. The Redbirds counter with Martinez (0-4, 5.76, lat 4 starts). In his last start against the Halos, he surrendered 5 runs in 4 innings. I'd like this one better if the Cubs (5-8 in their last 13) were playing better.

$20 on Texas (-120) over LA Angels

The Rangers send Lewis (1-0, 1.71 ERA, last 3 starts) to the bump. He shut out the Astros over 7 innings his last time out. The Angels start Santiago (1-2, 5.13, last 5), who lasted only 2+ innings against Baltimore in his last outing. Texas has won 12 of 17 and LA has won 8 of 12.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

After our winning session at Silverton, Ms. Duck and I drove to Green Valley Ranch. We have stayed here on several occasions and have enjoyed each visit. Our only complaint with the casino was the temperature. It was always cold. This time however, someone had located the thermostat and turned it up. Much more comfortable.

We didn't visit the pool, but I have this picture of it (there really is a pool if you look real close), and thought you wouldn't mind.

We parked our ride on the parking garage roof and made the short walk into the casino. After locating the video poker area, we sat down in front of a couple quarter machines and ordered drinks (margarita for Ms. Duck and a rum and coke for moi). Although my wife was still struggling to win, my "run good" continued. After an hour or so, Ms. Duck mentioned she wanted to do some browsing in the shopping district next to GVR. We both pressed the cash out buttons on our machines, with my ticket showing a $15 gain for the ol' bankroll.

The District at Green Valley Ranch

She headed for the stores and I walked over to the poker room to see what games were running. After a little bit of a wait, I got on the waiting list for the $1-2 no limit game. I found a nearby deuces wild machine and won another $20 before I received a text that my seat was ready.

I bought in for two Benjamins and sat in the number six seat. My first hand was K-Q offsuit from middle position. With one limper in front, I raised to $8 and received two callers. The player to my right checked the king high flop. I pushed three redbirds out, receiving a call from the button and my other opponent folded.

I bet another $25 after a blank on the turn and the button folded. It's always nice to win the first pot you're involved in.

Still running good!

The only other hand of note began with me holding the A-6 of clubs. Once again I was in middle position, but was first to act, so I open raised to $6 and got two customers, both of whom had position on me.

The flop had two clubs, so I bet my nut flush draw and received a call from one of my two opponents.

The turn completed my flush and I bet 1/2 pot, receiving a call.

The river was a fourth club.

"I think that card just cost me some money," I said, assuming my opponent would know I had the nut flush. I slid a 1/3 pot bet out, hoping for a hero call. I got more than that when he 3 bet. After studying the board again, I noticed there was a possible straight flush. I checked my hand and found that I held one of the cards needed to complete it. I four bet and the villain shoved the rest of his chips in the middle. After calling and showing the nuts, he flipped over K-5 offsuit, with the king being a club. I guess he thought I had a small flush when I made my statement.

Bad read.

There were two short tables and shortly after this hand our table broke. I had a nice stack when I was seated at the new table. Once again in the six seat. But, as I was about to learn, my luck had run out for this day and the storm clouds were forming.

I played for 2- 2 1/2 hours at this table and did not win one hand. River draws that hit against me, second best hands (think two pair versus a set), and admittedly, some tilty play contributed to a $135 loss for the session.

Ms. Duck sent a text and asked if I wanted to grab a bite. It had been ten hours since we enjoyed the buffet at Silverton, so we agreed to meet at Grand Cafe in the casino. We are both fans of the Feast Buffet at Green Valley, but it was too late to eat a big meal. Instead, we chose the soup and sandwich special. Both the chicken noodle soup and deli sammich were tasty and the service was good.

It was getting late (for old timers like me) and we decided to call it a night. We trekked to our chariot and made the drive back to our home base at the Cosmopolitan.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Tonight's MLB schedule features only one game that is worth an investment.$20 on Baltimore (-110) over Seattle

The Birds trot Tillman (4-0, 1.32 ERA, last 4 starts) out to the hill. He tossed 7 shut out innings against Detroit in his last outing. The Mariners hand the ball to Walker (0-2, 7.11, last 2), who surrendered 4 runs in 5 innings of work against the Rays in his last start. The Orioles are 7-2 in their last 9. Seattle has dropped 3 of 4.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Ms. Duck and I were up and at 'em around 7:30 Tuesday morning. After a shower, shave, and a couple cups of coffee, we began our morning ritual.

Me: "What do you want to do today?"
Ms. Duck: "Oh, I don't know. You pick."

After a few minutes of this, we decided to drive to the Silverton Casino for an early lunch. We took the elevator down (if an elevator is going down, is it still an "elevator?") to the Cosmopolitan valet booth and picked up our car. As usual, the valet service was efficient and cordial, and in just a few minutes we were on Dean Martin Drive, headed to Tropicana and then south on the freeway.

We arrived at the Silverton in just a few minutes and had some time before the buffet opened for lunch, so we decided to sit at a couple video poker machines to try our luck. We played a half hour or so and I cashed out $67 of my original $100 investment. I was afraid my run good at VP may have come to an end.

As we walked to the buffet, Ms. Duck spotted one of her favorite slots, "Invasion from the Planet Moolah." As she started punching buttons, I sat next to her and played the next door neighbor machine (another Moolah), losing around five bucks quickly before hitting a nice payout and walked away a $50 winner.

Sah-weet! Free lunch.

I won some moolah from these alien bovine!

We made our way to the buffet, and saw they had just opened. There were only two people in line, so we were seated almost immediately.

The lunch buffet is a good value at only $10, and I enjoyed my fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and salad. A nice slice of German chocolate cake, washed down by a tall, cold glass of iced tea fueled my engine and I was ready to go. Ms. Duck went with a large salad, spare ribs and a couple pieces of catfish. Sweet tea and a slice of cheesecake completed her meal.

The selection is limited, but both times we've eaten there has been a good experience. The food is not exotic, but it's tasty and the service has been good.

We then walked over to the 117,000 gallon aquarium in the middle of the casino. With over 4,000 fish, including sharks and stingrays, it's a very impressive display. To my disappointment, we missed the daily Mermaid Show, but I have a stock photo for you below :)

Mermaid Show at the Silverton.

They also have a huge Bass Pro Shop that connects to the casino, so we wandered in there for a bit. If you're into camping (no), fishing (yes), or hunting (yes), it's a great place to visit.

Ms. Duck wanted to play some more video poker, so she selected a machine, ordered an adult beverage, and seemed content, so I went to look for a table game.

The craps table only had three shooters, but the table appeared hot, so I waited for a point to be made. Once that happened, I bought in for $100, put a redbird on the pass line, and waited for the come out roll. Once the number was established, I backed up my $5 pass line bet with two more redbirds, then placed the 6 and 8 for $6 each.

The shooter continued to hit numbers, and hit both my 6 and 8 a time or two. When he sevened out, I had made $35. Not a bad start.

The dice were pushed to me, and after placing a $5 pass line bet, I picked two square ones and tossed them towards the far wall.

"Winner seven!" hollered the stick man. Not a bad start.

I established a number on my next throw, backed my pass line bet, and placed the 6 and 8 again. I had a decent run, hitting three or four numbers before crapping out, and turned another nice profit.

The dice were passed to my left as I dropped a redbird on the pass line. The shooter fired a hard ten, which is a tough number to hit. I dropped $10 to back my pass line bet, and then tossed $12 to the dealer, who placed half on the 6 and the other half on the 8. The shooter hit both my 6 and 8 before tossing a 10, paying off at 2-1 behind the line. Nice!

By the time he sevened out, I had doubled my $100 buy in and decided to cash out. I tossed a couple dollar chips to the dealer and said, "One on the bride's delight (hard 10) and one on the bride's nightmare (hard 4) for the dealers!"

I walked away before the next shooter threw, so I don't know if either (or both) hit, but it was a nice payout for them if it did.

I found Ms. Duck and asked her if she was ready to leave. We stopped at the sportsbook on the way out so I could bet on the Pirates, but the line had moved too high, so I put my money back in my pocket. I saw something on the floor as we were leaving and picked it up. It was a portrait of Andrew Jackson, a $20 bill! A nice finish to a fun time.

We had several hours of fun at the Silverton as my run good continued. But, as Ray Wylie Hubbard sings in his song "Mother Blues," there were dark clouds on the horizon.

One game north of the border looks like the only one on the schedule worth a peek.$20 on Toronto (-125) over Tampa Bay

Happ takes the ball for the Jays. In his last start he shut out the Giants for 8+ innings. Smyly toes the slab for the Rays. He surrendered 6 runs in 5 innings against the Mariners in his last outing. Neither team is playing well. Toronto has lost 3 of 4 and the Floridians 5 of 6.

Friday, May 13, 2016

The only match up worth a peek is in the Bronx.$20 on ChiSox (-140) over NY Yankees

Sale (7-0, 1.79 ERA, season) toes the slab for the Palehose. In his last start he held the Twins to two runs in seven innings of work. The Pinstripers counter with Severino (0-5, 6.12, season), who was knocked around for 4 runs in 6 innings against Boston. In his six starts the Yankees have been outscored 37-7. Not good. But, they have won 7 of their last 10 at Yankee Stadium.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

One game is worth a look on today's schedule.$20 on NY Yankees (-160) over Kansas City

Tanaka takes the ball for the Pinstripers. He shut out the Orioles for 8 innings in his last start. The Royals send Medlen to the bump. The Nats pounded him for 6 runs in only 2 innings his last outing. New York has won 5 of 7 at home. The Royals have lost 10 of 12 on the highway.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Only one game worth betting on tonight's menu.$40 on NY Mets (-115) over LA Dodgers

Matz (4-0, 0.67 ERA, last 4 starts) throws the pill for the Metropolitans. In his last outing he shut out the Braves for 7 innings. The Dodgers send Kazmir (1-2, 5.82, last 4 starts) to the bump. The Rays roughed him up for 4 runs in 6 innings in his last start. New York has won 8 of their last 11 on foreign soil. LA has dropped 6 of 7 at home.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

After surviving our daughter's wedding two weeks prior, I surprised Ms. Duck with a much needed trip to Vegas for a little R&R. If you've never been involved in planning a wedding, the stress level gets pretty high, so a getaway was just whet the doctor ordered.

Since it was Saturday and neither was working, our daughter and new son-in-law drove us to Love Field in Dallas, a two hour trip that kept us from having to worry about parking. Love Field is a nice sized airport, nothing like the colossal D-FW, but parking there is a problem.

I received a call from my sister during the drive. She explained that our mother had taken a tumble and was in a local hospital ER awaiting x-rays on her ribs. If they were broken and had done any damage to her already suspect lung, surgery may be necessary. If that was required, we would have to return home.

So my gambling began long before we reached Vegas as I bet that the ribs were not broken. And I wouldn't know the results until we landed at McCarren.

Fortunately, my bet was a winner and the injury was diagnosed as bruised ribs.

Our flight went off without a hitch. Once in Vegas, we grabbed our bags, caught the shuttle to the rent car plaza, selected our chariot for the week ahead, and were on our way to Sam's Town.

View of the atrium from our room at Sam's Town.

After checking in and getting our bags to the room, we were both hungry and walked over to the Panda Express in the casino area and had dinner.

Then we went to bed.

Damn we're old.

Sunday morning we were up early (for Vegas), checked out and took our bags to the car before returning for our first round of gambling on the video poker machines. Deuces Wild was our pick and as noted in the picture below, did not disappoint.

Four deuces was good for 1,000... nickels. I also hit a straight flush on a
Bonus Poker machine for a nice payoff!

We were getting hungry and decided to invest part of my $50 profit and grab some breakfast at TGIFridays. The food was tasty, but the service was slow. Ms. Duck and I thought it might be our waitress' first day.

At least I hope it was.

A few more uneventful hands at the VP machine and we decided it was time to go. Ms. Duck wanted to stop in the gift shop on our way out, which is not one of my favorite things, but I actually found a ring I liked. The cashier asked if I would like to apply my player points for a discount. After the price reduction my price was ...FREE!

Yea me!

After I made my awesome purchase, we drove across the street to Walmart to pick up our supplies for the week. We've all seen the "People of Walmart" pictures and this one had more than their share.

Wow! Just wow.

From Wallyworld we drove to the Cosmopolitan to set up shop for the next five nights. Once unpacked, we strolled next door to the Bellagio to cash a couple sports bets I had my daughter place when she was here a couple weeks before.

After walking thru the casino and a few of the shops, we crossed over to Planet Hollywood and had a couple sandwiches from the Earl of Sandwich before heading back to the hotel and calling it a day.

We had been in a hurry unpacking and I didn't notice the interesting decor in our room. Monday morning while sipping on a cup of java and waiting for Ms. Duck to get ready, I took a tour of our temporary abode.

Here's the wallpaper pattern in the bathroom/dressing area.

Interesting, huh?

And here was the picture that was hanging near the toilet.

I've always liked balloons.

And this one was above the couch.

Not exactly your typical hotel wall artwork.

Speaking of artwork, once Ms. Duck had finished make up and hair, we drove to the Fashion Show Mall for an early lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Since they were still a few minutes away from opening, we walked a few doors down to the Lawrence Art Gallery.

I was an art major and readily admit to being an art geek, so to be able to see works from Picasso, Chagall, Miro, Warhol, and others always makes my day. They are currently expanding, so I'll have to make it a point to stop by on our next trip.

After filling our tanks with a nice meal at the Cheesecake Factory, we walked through the mall and into Caesar's casino. We found a couple quarter video poker machines, ordered adult beverages and played for a while. Somewhere around drink number two or three I hit a Royal Flush! Nice!

A Royal at Caesar's! The picture ain't too good.
You'll have to trust me :)

Once we collected our bounty, we found the valet, picked up our car, and drove to the Orleans. I headed to the sportsbook to place a bet against my favorite baseball team (Astros). They aren't playing well and I liked the pitching match up, plus I figured if I had to suffer thru another one of their losses, I might as well profit from it.

A couple hour of video poker with Ms. Duck didn't result in much of a change in our bankroll and we decided to head back to our hotel.

We located our ride in the parking garage and drove back to the Cosmo to give their casino some action.

My hot streak continued, cashing out my $100 original investment for $100.03. I'm sure the Cosmo board called an emergency meeting to try and figure out how to cover such a huge loss!

We called it a night and headed up to the room where I dreamed of ways to spend my new found fortune :)

There are two games worth a peek today.$20 on Seattle (-120) over Oakland

Hernandez (2-1, 1.83 ERA, last 3 starts) gets the nod for the M's. He tossed 7 shutout innings against the Royals his last time out. The A's send Manaea to the bump. In his only start he surrendered 4 runs in 5 innings against the Astros. Seattle has won 10 of their last 13. Oakland has lost 8 of 11.

$40 on NY Mets (-200) over Atlanta

Matz (3-0, 0.93 ERA, last 3 starts) throws the pill for the Mets, coming off a 7 inning shutout versus the Giants in his last start. Chacin (1-1, 4.50, last 3 starts) takes the horsehide for the Braves. In his last outing against the Red Sox he gave up 2 runs in 5 innings of work.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Two games stand out on tonight's schedule.$20 on Washington (+110) over Kansas City

The Nats send Roark (1-1, 1.80 ERA, last 3 starts) to the bump. In his last start he threw 7 innings of shutout ball against the Phillies. The Royals counter with Young (1-4, 6.12, season), who gave up 3 runs in 5 innings of work against the Halos in his last start. Washington is 6-1 in their last 7 road games. KC has lost 6 of 7.

$20 on ChiCubs (-190) over Pittsburgh

Arrieta 5-0, 1.00 ERA, season) takes the pill for the Cubs, coming off a 5 inning, 1 run start against the Brew Crew. The Bucs send Niese (3-0, 5.08, season) to the hill. Niese gave up 5 runs in 5 innings in his last outing at Colorado. Chicago is 7-2 in their last 9 games. Pittsburgh is 8-3 in their last 11.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Two games are worth a gander on today's docket.$20 on Texas (+140) over Toronto

Griffen (2-0, 1.89 ERA, last 3 starts) throws the pill for the Rangers. He surrendered only 1 run in 8 innings of work against the Yankees his last start. Dickey (1-3, 6.75, season) toes the slab for the Jays. The White Sox blasted him for 6 runs in 6 innings in his last outing. Texas has won 4 of their last 5. Toronto is 4-7 in their last 11.

$20 on San Francisco (-145) over Cincinnati

Cueto (2-1, 1.54 ERA, last 3 starts) takes the ball for the Giants. He threw 7 shutout innings against the Padres in his last appearance. The Reds counter with Finnegan (1-1, 4.70, last 3). The Mets scored 3 runs in 6 innings on him his last time out. The Giants have lost 6 of their last 8 on foreign soil. Cincy is 2-8 in their last 10.

Hi! I'm Lucki Duck.

About Me

I'm married with two kids who recently received college degrees. I have owned a small business for over 30 years. I enjoy playing small stakes live poker with friends. The small stakes creates a fun atmosphere where no one is too concerned about the money. Currently I play the Hyper Turbo tournaments on Bovada, Occasionally, I play on Poker Stars under "Poker Donk3y." Should we get the opportunity to play, I hope you'll stop by to pitch a few cards. I also do some small potatoes sports betting. I usually post my picks, so check in to see how my bankroll is holding up!